avoiding insurance industry burnout! you’re worth it! · 2019-10-25 · avoid procrastination...

Avoiding Insurance Industry Burnout! You’re worth it!

Sponsored By:

Avoiding

Insurance Industry

Burnout!

You are Worth IT!

Copyright 2017 Innovative Management

Solutions, LLC

Christine M. Sullivan, CIC

Innovative Management Solutions, LLC

Christine M. Sullivan, CIC

➢ Certified Insurance Counselor

➢ Full licensed Broker in all lines of insurance

➢ 27 years experience in Insurance Agency Operations Management

➢ 32 years experience in the insurance industry

➢ Operational Manager of three different insurance agencies

➢ Other areas of expertise: Training programs for New producers, new managers and account managers, leadership development, time management, process and procedure development, E&O management, Personal and Commercial Lines department restructures, Agency management software migrations, Five Star designation certification experience, development of Client Relationship/Internal Sales and Claim Management programs.

➢ I have been you….


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Avoiding Insurance Industry

Burnout! You are Worth IT!


Solutions, LLC

• Better Balance in Life and in

Business

• Role Evaluation

• Right Seat on the Right Bus

• Client Relationships and WOWs

• Self-Management/Self

Accountability

• Daily Self-Reflection

Sound Familiar??➢ “Do you have a minute?”

✓ Everyday…several times per day

➢ “I just don’t have the time.”

➢ “I’m too busy.”

➢ “How am I ever going to find the time to do this?”

➢ “I wish there were more days in the week or hours in the day.”

➢ “Can someone give me a volume control for him/her….a MUTE button?”

➢ “This week was the worst EVER”!

Sound Familiar???


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What is Burnout?

Two important definitions of burnout are:

"A state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by long term involvement in emotionally demanding situations." – Ayala Pines and Elliot Aronson.

"A state of fatigue or frustration brought about by devotion to a cause, way of life, or relationship that failed to produce the expected reward." – Herbert J. Freudenberger.


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Key Symptoms of Burnout ? Overall attitude is negative and critical

Dreading going into work, and wanting to leave once you're there.

Having low energy, and little interest at work.

Having trouble sleeping.

Being absent from work a lot.

Having feelings of emptiness.

Experiencing physical complaints such as headaches, illness, or backache.

Being irritated easily by team members or clients.

Having thoughts that your work doesn't have meaning or make a difference.

Pulling away emotionally from your colleagues or clients.

Feeling that your work and contribution goes unrecognized.

Blaming others for your mistakes.

Thinking of quitting work, or changing roles.Copyright 2017 Innovative Management

Solutions, LLC

Stress Versus Burnout?

◦StressShort term

Caused by feeling that work is out of control

Possible for several daysProject related with strict deadlines

When situation subsides the stress typically does.


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Stress Versus Burnout?◦ Burnout Longer period

Believing work is meaningless

Feeling of not doing what you are passionate about Changes made that are not beneficial to the team

EX:

Losing a Key management person or mentor

Workload is unbearable- never being able to breathe.

Result: going through motions versus engagement


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Causes of BurnoutMost Common:

◦ Lack of autonomy Lack of control over YOUR work

NEVER having enough time to finish tasks or projects

2nd common cause

YOUR Values are NOT in alignment with:

◦ Values, Standards and Expectations within Employers

Other causes include:

Having unclear goals or job expectations.

Working in a dysfunctional team or organization.

Experiencing an excessive workload.

Having little or no support from your management team or company.

Lacking recognition for your work.

Having monotonous or low-stimulation work.


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Avoiding Stress

Organize your desk – make everyone’s life less stressful.

Never leave the office for the day without knowing what the next day’s priorities are. (use your red folder).

Strive for more proactivity – make it happen

Avoid Office Gossip, don’t enable it

Building longer, stronger relationships with the Right People…more often… are motivators!


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Avoiding Burnout

Finding Purpose Finding Purpose in your work

◦ 75/25 concept

Are you the RIGHT SEAT on the RIGHT BUS?

Are you just working for a paycheck?

Do you have any passion for what you are doing?

Look deeper at what YOU do EVERY day…

How does YOUR work positively influence others

and make their lives better?

How could you add more meaning to


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Avoiding Burnout

Avoid Overcommitting Avoid Overcommitting

◦ Develop and Commit to Service Standards

◦ Buy yourself time when you can – simply ask

◦ Assign goal dates and due dates – prioritize by

these.

◦ Exercise integrity at the moment of choice

◦ Under promise and overachieve.


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Avoiding Burnout

Avoid Procrastination Avoid procrastination with decision

making

◦ Making tough decisions aren’t easy but once they are made the stress begins to subside

◦ Do not avoid difficult conversations

Educate yourself on Assertive, Tactful communication and enhance those skills.

It isn’t what you say, often times it is HOW you say it that makes all the difference.

Good OPEN CONFLICT is Healthy and ACTUALLY relieves stress if handling correctly


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Avoiding Burnout

Execute Decision Effectively Difficult decisions can be hard to execute.

◦ Structure a Plan

◦ Communicate with the Team

◦ Follow through

◦ Hold YOURSELF and others accountable for

their role and actions in the decision.


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Avoiding Burnout

Perfection isn’t the Answer Don’t sacrifice the good for the perfect

Learn the 80/20 Rule…

◦ The important thing to understand is that in

your life

◦ 20% of the activities you do

◦ account for the majority (80%) of your

happiness and success.


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Avoiding Burnout

Work /Life Balance Balance your scale daily, weekly

We all need time away from work no

matter how much we love it.

Take time to periodically “Sharpen YOUR

SAW”…

Take time for YOU


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Sharpening the Saw


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Balance is Key

➢It’s all about BALANCE…

➢The decisions YOU make and the choices YOU make.

➢YOU determine your own success as a person, professional, parent, etc.

➢Self-reflection at the end of each day, how did you do today?

➢YOU need to be strict with yourself and with allowing others to negatively influence your day or week.

➢It’s YOUR life…


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Avoiding Burnout

Worry and Regret Don’t worry about what hasn’t happened

YET

Ask yourself, did I do something wrong? If the answer is NO let it GO! It’s not YOU it may just be a bad day for THEM!

If the answer is yes, look for a SOLUTION to learn from.

Reflect daily, carry 3 positives forward

How can you win tomorrow?

Then let the day go! Know when to let it go!

Tomorrow is a new day.


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Use it…or Lose it!➢ Time is a NON-RENEWABLE,

NON-RECYLABLE resource.

➢ You choose where you spend your

time & how much time you give to

things.

➢ If you do not have time, it is because

you don’t make it available for what

you need it for.


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Key Time Wasters

Key Time Wasters

◦ Switch – Tasking

◦ Working on the wrong things at the wrong times – not knowing the priority

◦ Too many people involved in the same process

◦ Spending time looking for files, mail, etc.

◦ Co-workers/Management trying to figure out YOUR System in your absence.

◦ Negativity and Office Politics/Gossip


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WOW Tips:

Strive to be advocates for

our Clients

Client advocates are

consistently “wowed”, not

because obvious needs are

met but because we offered

solutions to problems they

don’t even know they have”. Innovative Management Solutions, LLC ©

2017 22

WOW Tips: The best of the best anticipate problems before

they surface and prepare ahead! These are moments people rarely forget!

It’s the service we are NOT obligated to give that people value most.

The little things are more impactful on clients and retention than the big things.

It’s a combination of many small, impressive moments that add up to very powerful “wows” and loyal customers.

Make sure you know what really matters to your clients and then act on it. (Expectations)

Innovative Management Solutions, LLC ©

2017 23

WOW Tips: “Sales without customer service is like stuffing money into a pocket full of holes” – David Tooman

Meeting expectations is not long enough to build “wows”.

The rules have changed.

Clients compare you to not only your direct competition but to EVERY service provider there is out there.

We need to benchmark against the very best agencies and communicate VALUE to our clients that may not exist now.

Why are our competitors so awesome?

YOU need to now, because others (they may be your clients) already do.


2017 24

WOW Tips: It’s simple…

Always give people more than what they expect.

Clients want to feel appreciated, loved, and treated with dignity and respect. – Human nature

To really Wow our clients, WE must FEEL a sense of WOW. To accomplish this we lead with passion and spirit in whatever role we play.

Believe in what you do or are selling.

We need to learn how to read people and respond quickly.


2017 25

WOW Tips:

The only way to get a “wow”

out of an error is to correct it

in such a way that the client is

almost glad it happened.

We can’t completely eliminate

and avoid mistakes but we can

learn from them.


2017 26

WOW Tips:Reliability: Well done is better than well said!

Trust is the foundation in any relationship and key factor in Wowing clients

Excellence is not an act, but a HABIT.

The real secret in wowing customers in the long run is to shift the emphasis from detection to prevention.

Proactive versus reactive wins almost every time, the hard part is finding the time!

Giving them peace of mind!Innovative Management Solutions, LLC ©

2017 27

Client Relationship Builders


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➢ To better service our clients in

Claim Situations WE ALL should:

Use this time to SHINE and Be

Patient!

To the Client this is an urgent

matter and a problem they look

to us to help them solve.

Explain Next steps

Communication that we are

here for them



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Promise to check back in with them

and DELIVER!

Call them back

Great way to build relationships and create

ravings fans.

Watch for WOW factors as a residual

effect for all of your patience and hard

work.

They won’t forget what you’ve done for

them.



Solutions, LLC

➢ Another way to better service our

clients…BE PROACTIVE

➢ Account Managers will:

Review all accounts in a

proactive manner

Reviewing all coverages

and policies to look for

Missing coverages

Gaps in coverage

avoiding insurance industry burnout! you’re worth it! · 2019-10-25 · avoid procrastination...

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